Change in Perspective
by horseislove
Summary: James had a huge crush on her from the first time he saw her. Lily hated him more than anyone else in the world. Something changed one summer, and they fell in love after all.
1. Owls

The owl that through the window on a bright sunny morning didn't bother her. Lily Evans was a witch, used to sending mail to her friends this way. But something about this particular letter disturbed her. She had seen this handwriting before, she knew. She just couldn't place who its owner might be. Smart as she was, Lily couldn't bear not knowing something.

She broke the wax seal and unfolded the small piece of parchment.

**_Evans,_**

**_I'm sorry. I know Snape was your friend. I shouldn't have teased him so much after OWLs last week. I guess it's my fault he called you that offensive word, and I'm sorry. I just don't know when I should quit sometimes._**

**_James Potter_**

Lily was in shock. He had written her a real note—not an attempt at a love letter like she would have expected, but an apology. She reread it and got stuck on the second sentence. _Snape _was_ your friend_. Meaning he wasn't her friend anymore, and that horrible scene—the one where he called her Mudblood—threatened to play again in her head.

She wanted to believe that Sev really regretted it, but there was no way to deny the look of pure hatred she had seen in his eyes as he insulted her. Mudblood. Wouldn't Tuney just love this, she thought. Even in the wizarding world, she was considered a freak and an abnormality.

Without thinking, she got out a quill and parchment to write back to Potter, the most unlikely person she could be sharing any of this with.

_James Potter,_

_It's not your fault. I thought he was going to snap eventually; he was spending so much time with those Slytherins, and their pure-blood mania was sure to rub off on him. I had just hoped it wouldn't be so public, but there's nothing we can do about it now. I don't think Sev and I can be friends any more, though._

_Lily Evans_

She couldn't believe herself; she was forgiving James Potter, of all people. She was admitting to him that he had been right about Sev, as if he needed another reason for his ego. She almost tore the note and threw it out, but changed her mind at the last second. Sure that she would regret it almost instantly, she handed her reply to Potter's owl and he flew off.

Strangely enough, it was almost a relief. Potter had apologized, and she had accepted it. She couldn't be angry with him anymore even if she wanted to.

Almost an hour later, Potter's owl was back at her window. It was with a sense of excited apprehension that she untied the parchment scroll from his leg.

**_Lily Evans,_**

**_It's still my fault that Snape had his mental breakdown on the grounds, in public, after OWLs. I knew he was stressed and I thought it might be fun to see how far we could push him before he snapped. I obviously didn't know how bad it would be, but that's no excuse. I can't help feeling like it's my fault that he was so rude to you, and you have no idea how sorry I am for that._**

**_James Potter_**

This made no sense. James Potter was an egotistical, arrogant troll. Whoever wrote this note actually had feelings, and cared about someone other than himself. Lily scrawled out a quick reply.

_Who are you and what have you done with Potter?_

She was embarrassed at her response—she had thought it quite witty at the time—when she read his reply.

**_Lily, please take this seriously. I really am sorry for being so stupid and inconsiderate. Forgive me?_**

**_James_**

She couldn't just leave it without feeling horribly guilty, so her next note was much kinder.

_I forgive you. Better now?_

She hoped it was enough to convey her feelings, but couldn't write more without worrying that she was being cheesy. She waited very impatiently for his next reply, unable to focus on her potions essay because she spent so much time staring out the window, waiting for his owl to arrive.

**_Yes, thank you, Lily. I was wondering...we'll need our schoolbooks for next year, so is there any chance I could meet you in Diagon Alley? Not as a date, just as friends. I want to show you that I can be as normal as any other guy at Hogwarts. I want a chance to start over, as friends and nothing more._**

It was something she had never thought about before—James Potter normal? It couldn't be. But then, she wouldn't have believed he could ever sincerely apologize for anything, and he had proved her wrong about that.

_Sure, if you can be there tomorrow. I'll meet you at Gringotts at 9:00._

It was a strange feeling, agreeing to meet the guy she had spent the past five years avoiding. She found she sort of liked it, which she never would have thought possible. Everything she knew was being proved wrong today—James wasn't a complete jerk, and she was actually looking forward to meeting him.

She was surprisingly nervous when his owl returned. What if he couldn't come to Diagon Alley tomorrow? She took a deep breath, then slipped her finger under the seal.

**_I'll see you tomorrow morning then, Lily._**

It was a relief, in a way. If this went well, maybe she could get through her first year of NEWT classes without having to worry about James Potter. Maybe her life would be normal.

* * *

><p>Please review and let me know what you think!<p>

If you would like to see Lily and James' handwriting the way they look on my computer, the fonts are _Shelter Me_ for Lily and **_James Fajardo_ **for James. Both were downloaded from DAFONT, which I'm sure you can find if you take the time to Google it. I'm not allowed to link to outside sites or I would just give it to you. Sorry.


	2. Ice Cream

This early in the morning, the Leaky Cauldron was nearly deserted. The only people there were just passing through to reach Diagon Alley, and Lily was one of them. As she reached the back door, she heard a voice calling her name and spun around. "James! What are you doing here? I thought we agreed to meet at Gringotts at nine?"

He looked a bit sheepish. "Well, we did, but my mum wanted to get an early start on some of her shopping. Apparently she's worried all the lacewing flies will be gone by nine—"

"It's fine, James. I just wasn't expecting to see you here, that's all."

"I thought about sending you an owl this morning, then decided I might have already missed you, so I just...came here."

"I already told you, it's ok. I still have to get to Gringotts to change my money, though. I didn't want to make you wait through that."

James assured her that he didn't mind, and the two of them walked out the back of the Leaky Cauldron to the brick wall that concealed Diagon Alley. James tapped the brick that would let them through, and then made an elaborate bow to Lily. "After you, my lady." It was all she could do not to fall over laughing at his exaggeration, and that seemed to have been his purpose.

After stopping in Gringotts, Lily looked over her book list for sixth year. "Slughorn wants us to to get _Advanced Potion Making_, McGonagall wants _Advanced Transfiguration_, and Flitwick wants _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six_."

James sighed. "This is going to be a lot harder than last year, isn't it?"

"Of course it is, James. We're NEWT students now," Lily told him. "They have to get us ready for real life outside of school."

They picked up their books in Flourish and Blotts, and Lily dragged James into the apothecary. "Why are we in here? You know Slughorn would give you anything you want out of the classroom."

"I know, but I can never find anything in his cupboards," she admitted. "Besides, I'd rather be sure I'm using the exact right ingredients. Younger students tend to put things in the wrong places, and vials of salamander blood and pomegranate juice look a lot alike."

He laughed. "No wonder my potions don't always turn out quite right."

Lily dipped her hand into the barrel of frog eggs next to her. "Maybe you should get some of your own ingredients, too, James." She grabbed a handful and threw them at him, then tossed a Knut to the shop owner and dashed out the door.

James chased her through Diagon alley, knocking several people over in an attempt to catch her. No matter how fast he tried to run through the crowded streets, she always managed to stay at least a few meters away from him. When she ran past Fortescue's ice cream parlor, he shouted to her. "Lily! Truce!" She paused, but looked ready to run again at a moment's notice. "Come on, Lily. I'll buy you ice cream." She still looked unconvinced, but agreed to his truce, and they walked into Florian Fortescue's shop completely out of breath.

"What can I get for you two today?"

Lily and James looked at each other. "Go ahead," he told her. "I'm buying." She looked as if she might argue, but the determination on his face stopped her.

When they were sitting down with their ice cream, Sirius walked in with Meghan Hess, a soon-to-be Fifth Year from Slytherin whom they both knew had liked James for a few years. She looked thrilled to even be with Sirius, but he looked like the day couldn't possibly get any worse. He spotted James and came to sit at their table, scarcely noticing Lily. "Hey, Prongs, we have a minor problem. The princess found the dog, and the dog just found the stag. The princess is elated at the discovery and the dog needs help getting rid of her."

"What's going on?" Lily interrupted. "What's he talking about?"

Sirius turned on her. "It's a private matter, Evans." He ignored her for a fraction of a second, just long enough to process what he had said, then turned back to stare incredulously at her. "Lily Evans? Prongs, what did you do to her?"

"Nothing, Padfoot. Come on, Lily. Let's go."

She crossed her arms. "I am not moving from _this spot_ until you tell me what Sirius is talking about, James."

"_JAMES_?" Sirius shouted. "She's calling you _James _now? What the hell did I miss, Prongs?" He glared at his best friend.

James looked uncomfortable. "I sent her an owl yesterday—several owls, actually," he amended quickly when Lily looked at him. "We talked for a while, and she agreed to meet me at Diagon Alley today."

"You've sent her thousands of owls. She's never responded. What was different this time, Evans?"

She glanced at James. "It wasn't a creepy love letter. He actually said something worthwhile and considerate."

Sirius wasn't satisfied. "What exactly did he say, Evans?"

Meghan Hess interrupted. "Does it really matter? He'll be back to normal in a few days and she'll go back to hating him." Her smile grew with every word.

"This is normal, Hess," James insisted. "And maybe Lily doesn't hate me, though I wouldn't ever assume anything at this point."

Lily finally decided to have mercy on him and grabbed his hand from where it rested on the table. "Come on, James. I still need a few potion ingredients."

He stared at her, not sure what was going on.

"I promise I won't get distracted this time." James stood up to follow her. As they walked out the door, she turned around to mouth thank you to Sirius. The jealousy on Meghan's face was priceless, and Lily found herself smiling even more than before.


	3. Hogwarts Express

Boarding the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 3/4, Lily searched for the person she was most anxious to see. Suddenly, she was attacked from behind by her screaming best friend. "Oh my gosh, Lily! You have to tell me _everything_!"

"Calm down, Alice. I already wrote all of it to you. You know everything!"

"It's not the same," Alice complained. "You have to actually _tell_ me about it. I'll tell you about me and Frank."

"Alice. Marie. Dempsey." Lily's words were slow and measured, almost threatening. "Are you saying that you have a _boyfriend_ and you didn't even bother to tell me?"

"Well he only just asked a few minutes ago...but yes! I'm dating _Frank Longbottom_!"

The girls shrieked as they ran onto the train, where they managed to find a private compartment. "I told you about Frank. Now you have to tell me about James Potter," Alice demanded.

"He wrote me a note to apologize over the summer. We went to Diagon Alley and had a lot of fun, and we've been writing all summer. Just as friends, though."

"I already knew all that, stupid. I want details!"

Lily had just opened her mouth to comply when James Potter knocked on the door. "Hey, girls! Mind if we come in?"

Lily glanced at Alice and they both burst out laughing. "So is that a yes or a no?" James asked. When the girls didn't answer, he walked in and sat next to Lily. Sirius, Remus, and Peter followed him in.

When Lily didn't immediately kick them out or start arguing with James, the guys were confused. When she smiled and asked them whether they were planning to sit down or just keep standing there for the rest of the train ride, they were utterly baffled. This wasn't the Lily they knew, and she was a bit disconcerting.

"I'll tell you later, Alice," Lily promised. "Hey, James."

"_JAMES_?" Peter shouted. "Since when does she call you James?"

"Yeah, about that..." James looked uneasy. "Well, we've kink of been talking, you know, like all summer long?"

Peter looked ready to explode. "So why haven't you told your best mates until now?"

"Hey guys, remember the girl who's hated me for the past five years? We're friends now. Isn't that just great?" He laughed. "I would sound completely insane. I figured you wouldn't believe me anyway, even if I did tell you."

"Did Remus know?"

Remus laughed. "No, but I guessed."

"Did Sirius know?"

Lily decided to help him out a bit. "Well, yeah, but only because he saw us in Diagon Alley."

"You went to Diagon Alley with Lily Evans and you didn't bother to tell us?" Peter is insulted at having been left out of the loop.

"Like I said, Wormtail, would you have believed me?" James questioned absently.

Finally, Peter was forced to concede that James would have sounded insane. "Sorry, Prongs. I wouldn't have believed it, especially since you've been practically obsessed with her as long as we've known her."

James was barely listening. He nodded in Peter's direction, but he was mostly focused on Lily. She and Alice were whispering together conspiratorially, looking alternatively concerned and excited. He thought he heard his name, then both girls were sitting awkwardly silent and glancing between each other and him. "What's wrong, Lily?"

"Oh...umm...we were just wondering if you might know where Emma is? I mean, we haven't seen her since we got here and we're just kind of hoping she didn't miss the train."

James and Sirius looked at each other. "No, she didn't miss the train," Sirius told them. "We've seen her. First car, third compartment." He hesitated just a moment before continuing, "With Derek Ford." Whatever response he had feared never happened. Lily and Alice shrieked, then ran out of the compartment to find their friend.

Remus took the opportunity to corner James. "So, Prongs, tell us about you and Evans." The other guys were sitting so expectantly that James knew there was no way he was ever getting out of this. "It all started when I wrote her a letter..."

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><p>I would love some reviews! I've gotten tons of story alerts and favorite stories, but i'd like to know what you think :)<p> 


	4. Fight

The Marauders were out looking for trouble. They had gone all summer without causing any type of mayhem together, and were fairly sure punishments wouldn't be too severe on the first day of the new term. James and Sirius were in their element, looking for people to annoy as they rushed to class.

Severus Snape stalked past them, his nose deep in a potions book. "Hey, Snivellus!" Sirius called. "Want to play a game? It's called..." He hesitated a moment, then grabbed Snape's book. "DON'T LET SNIVELLUS HAVE HIS BOOK BACK!"

Sirius tossed the book to Remus, who tossed it to Peter, who tossed it back to Sirius, who tossed it to James, who dropped it. Snape grabbed his book and bolted while the other three Marauders stared at James. He never dropped anything, and they knew he could have caught it in an instant—it was much more predictable than the tiny golden snitches he never missed. He had not only dropped the book, he hadn't really made an attempt to catch it or attempt Snape from getting it back.

"Hey, mate, you okay?" Sirius asked.

"What? Oh...yeah...yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, guys." He smiled.

At the top of the stairs, Lily was too far away to see exactly what happened. She heard Sirius declare the game, and she had watched the four Marauders form a circle around him. She was disgusted; James Potter hadn't changed a bit, he had just fooled her. She hated him.

For the next week and a half, she avoided him. If he tried to talk to her, she pretended he wasn't there and walked away. She avoided spending time in the Gryffindor common room at all costs, and spent most of her free time in her dormitory. She was in the library, reading a fascinating book on the history of wand-making, when James finally cornered her.

"Lily, we need to talk."

"Go away."

"Lily, please. I need to know what's wrong. Why won't you talk to me?"

"What's wrong? I saw you all torturing Sev. You said you were sorry for the last time, but you didn't really mean it. You're a bastard, James Potter! He was my _FRIEND_!" She was screaming at him and she didn't even care.

"Lily, I'm sorry. Really, I am. I didn't know it would bother you this much. I won't do it again, I promise."

"I don't want to talk to you, so you better get out of here before I decide to curse you." Lily Evans never threatened anyone, and everyone in the library knew it. The silence was suddenly filled with anxious chatter, so that no one in the library had to listen to the rest of this fight.

"Lily..."

"Just go!" Her back was facing him, and he could hear that she was on the verge of tears. "Go away, James."

He knew in that instant that he still had a chance at being her friend, albeit a very small one. She had called him James, not Potter. She didn't hate him, at least not yet, and he didn't intend to give her another chance to pretend she did.

Lily heard him leave, then looked guiltily over her shoulder. Since when did she feel guilty about offending James? A year ago—even a few months ago—she would have found that a reason to celebrate. But a few months ago, nothing could have offended him. This was her fault. He had come to apologize and she had pushed him away as if they weren't even friends.

She left her books on the table and ran after him. "James! James, I'm sorry! I didn't mean that! Come back!" She found herself in a deserted corridor and heard no response, so she sank to the floor and whispered one word. "Please."

A while later—it could have been minutes or hours, she didn't know or care which—her cheeks were stained from crying and her hair was a mess. She heard two guys arguing loudly.

"I told you, he's off limits for the big pranks! It upsets her too much, and I can't do that anymore."

"Ducking out on your best mates' fun for a girl who hates you? Fine, I can pretend to get it. You're in love, or whatever. But trying to tell us what we can and can't do? That doesn't work, James."

"You know what, Sirius?" James shouted. "I don't care! I like Lily, and she hasn't talked to me for almost two weeks because we stole his stupid book. It's been torture, mate!"

"We can't give him special treatment just because she was friends with him. We bother everyone except each other."

As they argued, they walked closer to the spot where Lily still sat motionless on the floor. She heard their footsteps, continuously louder, headed toward her, but felt no urge to move out of their path.

"Okay, okay," James agreed. "He doesn't get any special treatment. But Sirius?"

"Yeah, mate?"

"That goes both ways. We treat him _just like_ everyone else, regardless of his House. That means you can't do anything to him that you wouldn't do to any Gryffindor, okay?"

"Deal, Prongs."

The footsteps stopped. "Lily?" James sat on the floor next to her. "Go ahead, Padfoot. I'll meet you in the Great Hall for dinner." When Sirius had walked down the corridor and turned a corridor out of sight, James turned his attention back to Lily. "Are you all right?"

She sniffed. "No. It's all my fault you and Sirius just had a row."

"It's not your fault, Lily, I swear."

"Yes it is! I was mad at you for teasing Sev even though he's not my friend anymore and it shouldn't matter what happens to him but somehow it just reminded me what an arrogant jerk you used to be and then I wondered if you hadn't really changed and I kind of exaggerated everything by not talking to you and I'm sorry, James!" She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.

"Lily, listen to me. It's not your fault. I was...am...an arrogant jerk, and I'm sorry, but I don't know if I can ever really change that. If you want me to, though, I'll try."

"No, James," Lily protested. "Don't change. I don't think I could put up with it if you did. You wouldn't be...you."

James laughed. It was a different laugh than when he was with the Marauders, gentler somehow. "You know, you used to hate me because I'm a jerk. I have to say, this is a nice change."

* * *

><p><em>Huge thank you to LucidChocolate for being the first reviewer! To the rest of you, please review! I'd love to know what you like and what you don't. Thanks!<em>


	5. Breaking Rules

James and Sirius sat on either side of Lily at dinner that night. "I would like to know if a certain Prefect would like to get into some trouble tonight. Nothing big, just a trip out of Gryffindor Tower after curfew," James muttered during dessert.

"Won't we get caught?"

"Nope. I solemnly swear that, even though we will be up to no good, the teachers won't notice a thing. They never do." Sirius found that comment especially hilarious for some reason that Lily couldn't comprehend. She ignored him.

"What about—"

"Prefects? No offense, but you're less observant than the teachers."

"So, if I went with you tonight, who would be coming?" Lily tried not to get too excited; she didn't want to get caught making trouble. McGonagall would most likely expel her.

"Just the three of us," James said conspiratorially. "I don't have the—er—capability to hide more than that, and even then it could be a bit of a tight squeeze."

"What would we do?"

James smiled. "Anything you want."

"Anything?" She thought for a moment. "I want to go up the Astronomy Tower."

"Why?" Sirius complained. "We're up there every Wednesday night already, drawing those dumb star charts. Last night was pure hell, there were so many stars."

"I still want to go up the tower. Not to draw star charts," she hurried when Sirius threatened to interrupt again. "Just to sit up there, under the night sky. I love the stars, except when we're mapping them."

"Yeah, no thanks, Lily," Sirius insisted. "You and James go have fun, but I really don't feel like climbing the whole freaking Astronomy Tower to look at the stars."

"Your loss, mate," James told him. "Lily and I are going to have a great time. You sure you don't want to come?" James looked nervously at Lily. "I'm not trying to make this a date or anything," he muttered to his friend.

Sirius looked incredulous. "That would be a first. James Potter _not_ trying to—"

"Shut up, Padfoot!" James interrupted, laughing. "Really, I'm not."

"Uh, huh. Sure. I'll believe that one when I see it, Prongs."

"Umm, guys?" Lily finally asked. "I know you're in the middle of arguing over something completely irrelevant, but I would like to know exactly how we're planning to get up the tower without being noticed."

"Come with me," James told her. "I'll show you the Marauders' secrets to undetected nighttime exploration of Hogwarts."

Fifteen minutes later, James carried two items down the stairs of the boys' dormitories into the Gryffindor common room: an old piece of parchment and a wadded-up old sheet.

"Those both look completely useless, James."

###

Lily sat in her bed, the curtains drawn around it, freaking out. She was planning to sneak out of Gryffindor Tower tonight with James Potter. If something went wrong—if someone noticed them—she could get out of trouble. She was a Prefect, authorized to roam the halls at night. James, on the other hand...well, he wouldn't be so lucky.

She took a quick minute to calm herself down, then straightened her uniform and threw on her robe. She made sure her makeup was still neat from this morning and ran a brush through her long auburn hair. It was as if she was preparing for rounds, with the slightly scary addition of butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't used to breaking the rules.

###

James and Sirius sat in their dormitory, studying the Marauder's Map. James was going to sneak Lily Evans to the Astronomy Tower tonight. He knew he would never be noticed alone, or with Sirius. He was worried about taking Lily, though. She was a Prefect, but even she had no reason to be near that area of the castle.

"Dude, calm down," Sirius told him. "It's just the two of you; you can easily fit her under the cloak with you, and you have to map to see if anyone is nearby. Besides, she's smart. She could get out of trouble if she ever needed to."

"Thanks, Padfoot." Reassured, he messed up his hair and headed into the common room to meet Lily.

###

The plan was simple, and they pulled it off without a hitch. Sirius, completely visible, left Gryffindor tower about ten o'clock. He was closely followed by Lily and James, hidden under the cloak, who immediately snuck off when the portrait hole was opened.

There was only one Prefect to worry about, a fifth year Hufflepuff who wasn't very observant. "This is what most Prefects are like," James whispered to Lily as they avoided her. "Even you've never given the Marauders any trouble, but you had no way of knowing we have this wonderful cloak."

A soft meow echoed through the halls. "Shit," James muttered. "Filch is coming. Run!"

They hid in an unoccupied classroom, scarcely daring to breathe. After five long minutes, James and Lily finally began to relax. She laughed, and they headed back out into the corridors.

Standing there waiting was Professor McGonagall. Belatedly, Lily realized they had forgotten to put the cloak back on before exiting the classroom. "I expect complete disregard of school rules from you, Mr. Potter, but Miss Evans? Both of you to my office, now."

Lily trudged to McGonagall's office, but James kept up a steady stream of conversation the whole time. He talked about everything from Quidditch to Muggles, as if he was just too nervous to be quiet.

Lily finally elbowed him as they approached McGonagall's office. "Shut up, James."

When all three of them were in her office, McGonagall shut the door. "There is no reason for students to roam the corridors at night, save the Prefects scheduled for patrol. Explain yourselves."


	6. Lies and Plots

Lily knew exactly how to get out of trouble. All she had to do was lie and throw James under the bus. There was only one problem: she was way too nice to honestly consider doing that to anyone, especially her friend. Besides, she wouldn't get in too much trouble; she had never been out after curfew before.

James knew exactly how much trouble he was in, as it wasn't the first time he had been caught in the corridors after curfew. But maybe if he was smart he could get Lily out of trouble.

"You see, Professor McGonagall," James started.

Lily interrupted. "This was my fault, Professor."

"Shut up, Evans," James muttered. "You know it was my fault."

"I don't care whose fault it is," McGonagall told them sharply. "I want to know why the two of you were not in Gryffindor Tower tonight."

"I wanted to go up the Astronomy Tower," Lily blurted before James could interrupt, "but I lost my nerve. Then we heard Filch's cat—well, we thought it was Filch's cat, but I assume it must have been you, Professor. We were planning to walk back to Gryffindor Tower when we ran into you."

"She's lying, Professor," James cut in. "You know Evans would never do anything wrong. She's just too nice to turn me in. I was planning to pull some pranks tonight, but she heard about them and followed me out of the Tower. I didn't notice right away, and by the time I did, we were pretty far from Gryffindor Tower. I decided to be a gentleman and walk her back, and we ran into you."

"Shut up, Potter. You're an arrogant jerk."

"So then why did you agree to walk back to Gryffindor Tower with me?"

"I didn't."

"So why were we going to the Astronomy Tower together?"

"We weren't. You followed me because you didn't believe I'd actually do it."

"So why were you walking back to Gryffindor Tower with me?"

"You wouldn't go away. Why are you trying to get me out of trouble with your crazy story, anyway?"

"I'm not. I'm telling the truth."

"Regardless," Professor McGonagall interrupted, "you were both somewhere you shouldn't be after curfew and I've decided I don't care why. I'm not going to get a straight answer from either of you, so you might as well drop it. I'm sure neither story is completely true, and I doubt either story is completely false. Eighty points will be taken from Gryffindor—yes, from my own House, Potter—for breaking curfew and for lying. In addition, you will each receive two detentions. Now get yourselves to bed, and be grateful I'm the one who found you."

They both agreed and quickly left the room. This time, as soon as they were out of McGonagall's sight, James remembered the cloak. Invisible, they took their time getting back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Evans? Really, James?" Lily questioned him as soon as they were safely away from McGonagall's office.

He wouldn't look at her. "I figured if she didn't think we were good friends, she would be more likely to believe me."

"So you don't want to admit that we're friends. Is that it?"

"No, Lily, no. That's not it. I didn't want you to get in trouble."

"But you don't mind being in trouble?"

"I'm in trouble all the time, Lily. I'm used to it. You know how often I have detentions, and how often I lose points for Gryffindor. Nobody ever gets mad at us for it anymore. The only problem is that tomorrow, they'll be looking for the prank that made sneaking out after dark worth it."

Lily smiled. "But the teachers will be watching out for it too, won't they?"

James nodded.

"You just have to seem like you know something we don't. If anybody asks, you can say it takes multiple nights to set up, but it's a major secret. We'll get the Marauders in on it and set it up over the next few days."

"Lily, wait. You said we?"

"Sure. I bet Alice would help, and probably Frank, too. If we play this right, maybe we can get tons of people to help us. Almost everyone in the school would love to be involved in one of the famous Marauder pranks, and think how huge it could be with that many people involved."

"You know how much trouble we could be in?"

"Of course, James. I'm not stupid. I'm risking more points from Gryffindor and a few detentions. I'd say it's worth it."

James grinned. "Then what's our prank, Miss Prefect?"

Lily grinned right back at him. "Howlers."

Back in the Gryffindor common room, James gave Lily a friendly hug before she headed up to bed. "You know, I think this makes you an honorary Marauder, Lily."

"Not yet," she insisted. "Not til we've pulled it off."

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><p><em>Wow, I must really love you guys. Two updates in three days?<em>

_Review please :)_


	7. Preparation

This disclaimer applies to the whole story because I don't want to write the same phrase over and over: **Anything you recognize, no matter how small, belongs to JK Rowling, not me. Everything else (a _very_ limited amount) is mine.**

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><p>The next morning, a sign-up appeared in the Gryffindor common room. "Anyone want to participate in a Marauders' prank? Just sign your name and we'll give you details," it advertised. Throughout the day, rumors told them that similar signs had appeared in the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw common rooms, too. Within two days, nearly all of Hogwarts—minus the Slytherins, who were carefully kept in the dark about the whole thing—had signed up to help.<p>

That Saturday, Lily and the Marauders held secret meetings with a few students at a time in empty classrooms. It had been a while since anyone at Hogwarts had received a Howler from their parents, and they discovered it was harder than they had expected to explain the concept to Muggle-born first years.

"It's a letter that screams its message at you," Lily finally told them. "Imagine your mum coming to school to yell at you." A few students looked horrified at the thought. "It's like that, only she's not actually there."

"Except everyone can still hear exactly what she's saying," James added.

"Exactly," Sirius said. "So all we need you to do is get together with a friend or two, write notes to each other, and give them to us by Monday. We'll charm them to Howl for you."

Later that night, when almost all of Gryffindor House was in the common room, James made an announcement to no one in particular. "You know, the Slytherins really ought to be a part of this."

Immediately, everyone shut up. There was dead silence in the Gryffindor common room, an rare occurrence usually reserved for when everyone finally went to bed.

"Not tell them what we're doing," he insisted, "just make sure they get Howlers, too. Any volunteers to write them?"

He continued to be the object of several stares as everyone else turned back to whatever they had been doing.

"Don't you think it's a little too obvious what we're doing if, on Wednesday morning, everyone but the Slytherins gets a Howler?" he continued, unaffected. "Logically, it would have nothing to do with them, and us Gryffindors would be immediately suspect. Make it harder for the teachers to track the source, and give us a bit more time to get you all out of trouble when they finally do discover what happened. What do you say?"

"I'm in," Sirius said. "Come on, folks. You'd have fun writing to the Slytherins, wouldn't you?"

When a few heads nodded, James smiled. "I'll have a list of Slytherins by morning. We'll make sure each of them is assigned to someone writing a letter."

The next few days passed in a blur for Lily, Alice, and the Marauders. They collected letters during each meal and at odd times between classes from whoever they passed in the corridors. Lily kept a tally of who was scheduled to receive a letter, making sure no one was left out.

On Tuesday night, Lily pulled an all-nighter, an experience she was well accustomed to. As it turned out, even the Marauders weren't used to going a full night without sleep. Just past midnight, Remus and Peter went up to the boys' dormitories, followed soon after by Sirius.

"You tired, Lily?" James finally asked a few hours before sunrise. "I'll finish up here so you can get some sleep."

She waved him off. "I'm used to this, James. Besides, I can't trust you not to fall asleep, and this needs to get done tonight. And we still have to get all these Howlers to the owlery so they can be delivered at breakfast."

"Damn, I forgot about that part."

"See what I mean, James? You would forget something crucial like that, and then the whole prank would be messed up. I'm often up all night, and I can still think."

"Shut up. I would have realized it eventually."

"Sure you would have," she replied skeptically.

They chatted for the next hour as they worked, casting _ululatus __iratus _at least a thousand times, and delivering the precious letters to the owlery as soon as they finished.

In the gray light before dawn, Sirius crept downstairs to check on them before all of Gryffindor Tower woke. He found them sound asleep on a couch. James looked as if he was relaxing, and Lily's head rested on his chest as she lay next to him. His arm was stretched around her in a friendly manner. The Howlers were nowhere to be seen, and he knew they had finished the job.

He tiptoed over to wake up James—carefully, not like he would in their dormitory—and poked his friend's shoulder. "Wake up, mate. Big day today."

James opened his eyes slowly, obviously stiff from sleeping on a couch. He froze when he realized Lily was next to him. Sirius, not usually a tactful person, quietly returned to his room to let them wake up together in peace.

Lily woke as she felt James shift, and she angled her head to look up at his face. Suddenly, she realized what she was doing and buried her face back in his shirt to avoid looking at him.

"Lily, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, James," she lied. "It's nothing." She jumped off the couch and away from him. "I just need to get ready for class, and the Howlers are today, and…" She trailed off as she walked up the stairs to the girls' dorms.

Damn, James thought. He had been starting to consider the vague possibility that Lily might sort of like him. Obviously not, though. It wasn't even like they had done anything last night, besides work on those stupid Howlers.

In her room, Lily cursed herself. She should _not_ not care that she woke up in James Potter's arms. Or rather, she should care, and she should be upset. She was furious with herself for getting scared and running away. Once she decided to go back downstairs and see James before everyone woke up, it didn't take her long to comb her hair, brush her teeth, and change her robes.

James was still on the couch where she had left him, but now he was sitting up. He was leaning forward, with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. She walked over to sit next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Everything ok, James?"

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><p>"<em>ululatus <em>_iratus_" literally means "the howling of the angry" in Latin.

Yes, it took me almost two months to update. I'm really sorry about that, but I've been applying to college. All my applications are finally in, and I should have more time to write now. Don't kill me; this chapter is mostly fluff, I know. I just needed to get back into the story after such a long hiatus, and the other option was a chapter about three lines long. I doubt you would have preferred that.

Thanks for reading. Now review please! I'd love to know what you think.


	8. Mischief Managed

The Great Hall buzzed with anticipation as students awaited the mail. The younger students especially were gazing up at the enchanted ceiling, not knowing what to expect. Everyone except the Slytherins and a few others knew that today, at least one owl would arrive for each student.

No one paid much attention when Lily and James walked in together, then sat next to each other. Any other day, they would have been the prime target for gossip—everyone knew Lily had hated him for five years now, despite his attempts to change her opinion.

The first owl finally flew in, followed by numerous others. They flocked in by the hundreds. Even the teachers paused their conversations to stare at this unique phenomenon. When the first Howler started, a silence fell over everyone in the Great Hall. It was soon broken as a cacophony of voices, all magically magnified tenfold, were shouting about everything from Quidditch matches to Muggle fashions.

The Marauders met each other's eyes. "Mischief managed," they whispered together.

The teachers sat in shocked silence, scanning the room for any hint of the perpetrators. The four Gryffindor boys who called themselves the Marauders were quickly considered by many, then rejected. They clearly lacked the organizational skills to pull a prank of this magnitude.

When the shouting finally died down, Headmaster Dippet stood up to address the students. "As I am sure you all know by now, there must be consequences for pranks, even those as successful as this. Especially the most successful pranks. Rest assured, we will find those responsible and assign punishments accordingly. Until such a time as they are discovered, curfew will be at eight o'clock rather than ten. I expect you all to be in your common rooms and dormitories by that time. Any students with information are encouraged to share it with the professors or any other member of the staff. Thank you, and please enjoy the rest of your breakfasts in peace."

As he sat down, several nervous glances were cast toward the Marauders and Lily. "That old man needs to retire," Sirius finally said. "He's bonkers if he thinks students are going to turn themselves in."

"Padfoot," James said, "they only need to turn the organizers in."

"Careful how loud you say that," Sirius cautioned. "It seems to me like most people think they're as involved in it as we are, or that we'll turn them in when we're caught."

"We would never—"

"Let them get out of trouble," Sirius kicked James under the table as he interrupted his best friend. Several people were listening to their conversation. "I wouldn't think of it. They helped us; they deserve the same punishment we get."

James nodded his agreement, but only his friends could see the open dissent in his eyes. "Let's get to class," he said.

"You hate Potions," Lily pointed out as they got up from the table.

"So?" he asked nonchalantly.

"So you shouldn't want to go."

"Ah, but Lily," he insisted, "you forget. Today, Slughorn is teaching us to make Veritaserum."

"And confiscating it nearly as soon as we finish, of course," she pointed out.

"Teaching us how to do it, nevertheless. I can do it again in the dorms if I actually plan to keep some."

"If? James Potter, I don't believe you."

"Okay, okay. I want people to have to tell me the truth sometimes. I'm a Marauder and the best Seeker that Gryffindor has had in who knows how many years, so I'm obviously popular." He wasn't being conceited; even Lily had to admit he was simply stating a fact. "People are nice to me to my face, but sometimes I would rather have honesty than fake friends."

"Don't you trust anyone?" Lily asked him.

"Sirius. Remus. Peter. You. That's it."

Lily stared at him. "You trust me, after all those years I spent hating your guts and refusing to talk to you?"

"That's precisely the reason I trust you'll be honest."

"Should I trust you'll never slip any Veritaserum in my drink?"

He smiled. "No."

She rolled her eyes as she headed into Slughorn's classroom. "You know, you really are an insufferable prat sometimes."

When the lesson ended two and a half hours later, James proudly showed Lily the three vials of Veritaserum he had managed to sneak from the classroom.

"I hope you're not planning to use those, James. Slughorn said your potion was a bit dreadful."

"_My_ potion was awful, but I was sitting next to the smartest girl in our class. She obviously didn't notice when I nicked a bit of hers." He grinned as he kept just out of Lily's reach. "Besides, I won't sneak it on anyone. The Marauders have some pretty amazing games of Truth or Dare, but we'd love to try it with some Veritaserum. Care to join us?"

Lily knew that her answer should be no, but she wanted to try her own Veritaserum, to see if it worked. A very small part of her was also thrilled at the idea of spending more time with James, but she would never admit it to herself. So instead of being her usual, logical self, she replied with a confident answer: "I'm in."

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><p><em>AN: There are two ways to look at this chapter and the few (or none-number here is negotiable, pending reviews) that follow: _

_1. fillers and fluff_

_2. development of Lily and James, and their relationship_

_I prefer the second, though I'll understand if it's too much fluff for you. Let me know if this section gets (or already is) too long, or if you want to see more of it. I'd love feedback either way. Guess how you can help me with that? Review, people!_


	9. Insults

James took a moment to comprehend her answer. "Then I guess I better admit that's not why I took the Veritaserum, right?"

Lily glared at him.

"Look, Lily, I've never played Truth or Dare in my life and I never intend to. It seemed like a good excuse to have the Veritaserum and I never expected you'd actually agree to play it with us."

She punched him in the shoulder and stalked off.

"Lily!" He followed her, talking to her back as she ignored him. "Lily, I'm sorry, okay?"

She finally spun around so fast that he nearly ran into her. "Sorry for what, James? For stealing my potion? For lying to me? You don't even mean it."

"For everything, Lily." His voice was quieter than she had expected, completely lacking any emotion. It completely diffused all her anger towards him.

"James, what's wrong?" she asked, just as quietly.

He smiled. "Nothing, Lilykins. I'm a Marauder."

They walked into the common room, where James instantly spotted his friends. "Oi, Sirius! I did it!"

Sirius clapped him on the shoulder—the same one Lily had just hit. She saw him wince and quickly cover it for his friends. "Way to go, mate! They'll never know—"

"Sirius, shut up!" James interrupted. "You never know who might be listening."

Lily had grown used to these frequent, minor arguments that meant absolutely nothing as soon as they were over. They would resolve this one within a few minutes, she knew, so she decided to head upstairs and get freshened up for dinner while she waited. Halfway up the stairs, she heard her name and paused to listen.

"Lily is the only one here, James. She won't tell," Remus insisted

"She might," James sulked. "We're not discussing it with her."

Sirius tried to reason with his best mate. "It's not even that bad of a prank. She knew about the Howlers and kept her mouth shut, and there's no way this is as bad as that."

"No. She hears about it, I'll forget where the Veritaserum is."

"What's up, Prongs?" Sirius asked. "Did she turn you down when you asked her out?"

"I didn't ask her out!" James shouted. "She's just a bloody girl, and she doesn't matter. Don't get her involved."

Lily didn't want to hear any more. With tears threatening to run down her face, she ran up to her dormitory and slammed the door. She collapsed on her bed and finally let herself cry. She had lost Sev because he called her a Mudblood, but at least he'd had the guts to say it to her face. James Potter, the coward, had just ranted about her to his friends, and she had lost him too. Alice and Emma both had boyfriends, and had less time for her than they'd had last year. She was all alone, and she lay on her bed crying about it.

Hours later—she had missed dinner—she started to feel a bit hungry. She knew where the kitchens were, so she sneaked out of bed and down the stairs to the common room. It was empty, but she was cautious anyway as she crept across the room to the portrait hole. She adjusted the Prefect's badge on her robes, so that hopefully no one would notice she wasn't actually scheduled for rounds tonight.

She made it to the kitchens without seeing anyone, and the house elves were delighted to see her. It made her smile to see that they still cared about her. She ate a delicious late dinner as they cleaned up the mess they had made while cooking dinner for everyone else.

She heard the door open, but ignored it. Most likely one of the elves was headed off to some chore for the night. She was stunned when she heard Sirius start talking to her. He had been so quiet she hadn't noticed him coming up behind her. "Hey, Lily?" he asked cautiously. "We need to talk." He pulled up a stool next to her.

She reminded herself she was mad at James, not Sirius, before answering. "About what?"

"James."

"No thank you," she said carefully as she returned to her dinner.

"Lily, what _happened_ today? You're both acting weird, and he won't talk to me about it."

"Oh, so you'd rather hear it from him, but he won't tell you, so I'm your second choice?"

"Lily, don't get mad at me. I'm just trying to figure out what happened. Yes, I'd rather talk to James. I've been great friends with him since first year. I know him better than I know you, and it's a little more natural to talk to him. But that doesn't make you any less important to me than he is."

"Shut up, Sirius. I don't like you like that."

"I know, and you're just my friend. But James is also just my friend."

"So?"

"So I care about you because he does. Do you have any idea how much he likes you?"

"He hates me."

"No, he doesn't, and you know that. What happened today? Come on, you can tell me."

"He stole and lied and insulted me. So I screamed at him."

With some careful investigation, Sirius finally managed to get most of the story from Lily, including the fight she had overheard between the two of them.

"The stupid thing is, I was already over being mad at him when he kind of snapped and…" she trailed off as she started to cry again.

"Shhh, Lily. It's okay." Sirius said as he gave her a hug. "Do you want to talk to him? I'll go with you."

"No," she hiccuped, "I need to talk to him alone. He'll feel like we're ganging up on him, and he'll just get more unreasonable." She hesitated a moment. "But would you walk with me to wherever he is?"

Sirius smiled at her. "Of course, Lily."


	10. Up All Night

Sirius led Lily to Slughorn's dungeon classroom. "Be careful," he warned. "He chucked a cauldron at me earlier when I tried to talk to him."

"I'm fine," she whispered back. "I'll come up to the tower later, hopefully with James. And if he gets upset, I won't push it," she promised.

"Good luck, Lily," Sirius said as he ghosted around the corner and disappeared.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "James?" she called tentatively. "May I come in?" When she didn't get an answer, she pushed the door open quietly. James was sitting with his head in his hands, oblivious to her. Cautiously, she put a hand on his shoulder.

He didn't react.

"James, what's wrong?"

"Go away, Lily."

"Why?" She sat down next to him.

"Because I'm a bloody jerk, alright?" He sounded angry, but Lily guessed—or rather hoped—he wasn't upset with her.

"Well maybe I don't care. Maybe I'm a bloody jerk, too."

"Lily," he started, still holding his head, "You're not a bloody jerk. You don't go around talking badly about your friends when they're not there."

"I know what you said, James. I heard it. I wasn't upstairs yet when you and Sirius started shouting at each other. It hurt worse that I expected it to, but I'm willing to let it go for a friend."

"You never came to dinner."

"I just went to the kitchens. I'm okay."

"No, Lily. I mean we fought, and I was hoping the whole thing would just kind of be forgotten. Then I started fighting with Sirius and you disappeared before I had a chance to talk to you, and then I didn't see you all night. I thought you were still mad about your Veritaserum. When I didn't get a chance to apologize, I felt even worse about what I said to Sirius, even though I thought you didn't know about it. I'm just as bad as…" He stopped just short of saying Sev, but they both knew who he meant.

"James. It's okay."

"I skipped practice."

"You should have gone. Flying might have made you feel a little better."

He finally took his hands away from his face to look at her. "You'll really forgive me that easily, after how horrible I was to you?"

"Yes."

"Your eyes are all red. I'm sorry," he finally said.

"So are yours. It's not completely your fault. I may have overreacted a bit."

They sat quietly together for a while until James broke the peaceful silence. "This probably isn't the right time to ask...but Lily, would you please come to the Halloween Ball with me? I'll be polite all night, I promise."

Lily couldn't keep herself from smiling. "If that actually happens, I'll be the only girl lucky enough to have a date who's good-looking _and_ a gentleman."

"So that's a yes?"

Lily blushed. "Yes."

"And you paid me a compliment? Bloody hell, I must be the luckiest man alive," James said.

By the time they were back in Gryffindor Tower, it was starting to get light outside. "Why do I never get to sleep anymore?" James complained.

"Go change your robes, James. You don't want to look like you were up all night if you can help it. I'll meet you back down here in fifteen minutes."

Lily raced up the stairs to change as quickly as she could. Her hair was a mess; there was nothing she could do about it. She threw it up into a ponytail to at least try to control it, and she washed her face and put on fresh makeup. She was back downstairs in less than the fifteen minutes she had promised James, and he was already waiting for her.

"I couldn't risk having you sneak downstairs without me," James said. She was glad to see he had changed out of the wrinkled shirt he had worn all night and put his tie on.

"I'm not going downstairs yet," she protested. "It's only five-thirty! The house elves probably haven't even served breakfast yet."

"Ah, so we'll make a grand entrance once everyone is seated?" James teased. "By the way, are you busy after classes today?"

"I have to tutor two third years in Potions, and after that I'll have homework that needs to be done…"

"In other words, no. Not once you're done tutoring."

"Meet me in Slughorn's classroom at four," she suggested.

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><p>yeah, this one's a bit short, but it was the best possible point to break between chapters. i'll have the next one up fairly quickly, provided i get some reviews :)<p> 


	11. Quaffle

"Ronan, I've told you a thousand times," Lily said. "_Chop_ your ingredients. Or _dice_ them, in some cases. Don't _mutilate_ them. And Isla, that's no reason to pull a face at him."

The two third years got back to work brewing their potions. Shrinking Solution was a simple little concoction, though Lily remembered it had seemed tricky this early in third year. She helped them when they needed it, but tried to stay out of the way as much as possible. They would never learn if she did all their work for them.

By quarter to four, their potions were beginning to seem passable, if not actually acceptable. With ten minutes left, Isla's potion was only slightly less green than Ronan's. At 3:58, the only color Lily could have used to describe the results was a sickening green, and she couldn't have been more satisfied with the third years.

"Bottle up a sample, and I'll leave it here on Slughorn's desk for you," she told them. "He'll be glad to know you mixed these with minimal help."

Isla left as soon as she was done, but Ronan stayed a bit longer than was strictly necessary. "Umm, Lily?" he asked timidly. "Could I have some advice?"

"Of course," she agreed, praying that James wouldn't burst in just yet. "What do you need help with?"

"I was wondering...how should I invite a girl to the Halloween Ball?" He seemed relieved that he had finally asked.

"Well, that depends who you're asking," she started. "What's she like?"

"She's beautiful," Ronan sighed.

"What does she like to do?" Lily prompted.

"She plays Quidditch, and she's really good at Herbology. She's the best in our class with plants and such."

"I can't say for sure without knowing who you're talking about, but I'll do my best."

"It's Isla," he told her in a rush.

Lily smiled. She had guessed as much. "She's a Chaser, right?" He nodded. "Write it on a Quaffle and toss it to her after her next practice, maybe."

"That would work," he said, "but how do I get a Quaffle since I'm not on any Quidditch team?"

"If that's what you want to do, I'll get you one."

"You're not on a Quidditch team, either," he protested. "You can't even get in the locker rooms where they're kept."

"No," she agreed, "but a friend of mine would nick one for me if I asked."

"Thanks, Lily," he said as he picked up his stuff.

"Go have fun now," she said as she shooed him out the door. "I'll get you that Quaffle tonight."

James was waiting in the corridor. "If I didn't know any better, Lily, I would swear I heard you discussing Quidditch _and_ suggesting that a third year steal something."

"I wasn't suggesting that _he _steal the Quaffle," she corrected him. "I said I would get him one to ask Isla to the ball."

"And just how are you going to get a Quaffle?" he asked, puzzled.

"Oh, that part's simple. You see, James, I have a good friend who just happens to be captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and I was planning to ask him to let me borrow one of the old Quaffles for a few days."

"And why are you helping a poor, lovesick third year? I happen to know you turned one of them down quite a few times, Lily."

She blushed. "The arrogant third year finally grew up, and he's not nearly as bad as I thought he'd be."

"Come on," he smiled. "Let's go get Ronan that Quaffle. If an old one is all you really want, he can keep it. We've got at least twenty of them that aren't good enough to use in games anymore."

The walk down to the Quidditch pitch was a bit chilly, though not too cold. Lily found herself wishing she had worn her robes out of the castle instead of just the uniform, but it was too late to go back now. James, on the other hand, had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and looked comfortable.

He glanced into the Gryffindor locker room before leading her in. "Every once in a while we find MacDuff and his girlfriend in here, and trust me, that's a scene no one wants to walk in on," James explained. "The equipment is back here," he continued. "We don't want random people to be able to just get in and take it."

"You're sure it's okay to let Ronan do this?" she asked.

"Of course it is, Lily. Half the Quaffles in here are in perfect condition, but retired. Apparently it's not ok for Sirius and me to nick one to play with on our own—they were afraid we might charm it, I think. We've got quite a collection that the school doesn't see as fit to use any more."

"I mean, what if Isla says no? After I encouraged Ronan?"

"She won't."

"It would be my fault for getting his hopes up, though," Lily protested.

"She'll come around eventually, even if she says no this time," James insisted. "After all, I believe my beautiful date turned me down no less than eighty-six times before she finally accepted my invitation to this ball."

"You _counted_? Oh, James, I'm so sorry," Lily said. "I was such a—"

"No, you weren't," he interrupted, shaking his head. "I probably should have taken the hint. And what is there to be sorry for now, anyway? You said yes—finally—so the eighty-seventh time was completely worth it." He let her think about that for a moment, then said, "Come on. Let's get Ronan that Quaffle, and then I have a surprise for you."


	12. Flying

Lily raced back into the common room to find that James wasn't where she had left him. It was a stupid thing to get upset over, really, but it got to her nonetheless. He had promised he had a surprise for her, then disappeared when she put Ronan's Quaffle in her dorm.

A tap on her shoulder startled her out of her thoughts. "Lily," James said, "I had no clue you would be back down this quickly. I was just grabbing something for your surprise." She could see that whatever it was, he had wrapped it in a sheet and was hiding it behind his back.

She couldn't stay angry at him; she _had_ run fairly quickly up to the girls' dorms. The Quaffle was laying on her bed where she had dropped it to run back down.

"Come on, then, Lily," he said as he smiled at her.

Five minutes later, they were back outside. The temperature had dropped since they were at the Quidditch pitch, and Lily shivered. James handed her the cloak he had brought out with the mysterious package. She fastened it gratefully around herself as he unwrapped his broomstick.

"I know you'll like flying," he said as he saw her face change to a faint green, "when there's an experienced pilot."

She just nodded, not trusting herself to say anything.

"We'll go slowly and stay close to the ground," he promised. "At least until you get used to it."

She nodded her agreement again and stood behind him with her hands on his shoulders over the broomstick. He lifted it off the ground so slowly that she didn't even mind her feet lifting from the safety of the earth. As they rose a few more centimeters, she wrapped her arms around his chest to keep from falling off.

"Can we go a little higher now, Lily?" he asked carefully.

"Just a little," she agreed, hiding her face on James' back. "And don't go too fast."

"I'll be careful with you," he promised as he lazily swirled the broomstick higher.

Lily finally raised her head to look around. They were almost as high as Gryffindor Tower, and still rising. She laughed nervously.

"Is this okay?" James asked her, obviously thrilled to be flying with her.

"It's not too bad, but I don't understand how you go any faster than this when you're so high up. What if you slipped off your broom?"

"We practice so that we don't fall off," James explained.

They flew together for a while, and Lily eventually noticed that they had drifted much higher than they had been originally.

"Can we please fly lower, James?"

He urged his broom into a slight dive, just enough that she could feel that they were leaning slightly forward. She squeezed him harder, shrieking. "_JAMES!_"

He pulled the broom level again. "Really, Lily, it's not that bad. If you ever want to land, we're going to have to fly down."

"We could just fly into Gryffindor Tower," she suggested nervously. "We're high enough."

"No, we can't. We're _too_ high. Besides, there are no open windows. We'd have to fly down to their level, then crash through one of them, and I'm not entirely convinced that's even possible."

"Then how are we going to get down?" Lily asked, scared of the answer.

"Don't kill me," James cautioned, "but I'm just going to have to fly down. Hold on tight and I promise you'll be okay." When he felt sure she wouldn't fall off, he winced at what he needed to do. He angled his broom into a dive so steep it was almost vertical and pushed it as fast as he could. Before she even had time to scream, he was pulling the broom back to level. They were less than two meters away from the ground now, and he made that descent quickly, though not too fast. Before Lily knew it, her feet had touched down again.

"Bloody hell, James!" she screeched as soon as she was safely on the ground. "How do you think that's safe?"

"That was fairly low, Lily. I have to be more than twice that high to have any chance of seeing—"

"But you could _die_, James!" she shrieked, cutting him off.

"Yes, I _could_, if I wasn't careful," he said cautiously. "But Lily, I take flying very seriously. I know how bad it could be if I didn't. I'm not suicidal, and I'm not looking for any reason to spend time with the weirdos in the hospital wing, either."

She just looked at him skeptically.

"I won't make you come flying with me again, if you don't want to," he promised.

Lily smiled. "Thanks, James."

"But I _do_ think you ought to come to our Quidditch practice tomorrow night," he said.

"And why is that?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I believe Ronan will be asking Isla to the Halloween Ball with a Quaffle _you_ nicked for him, for that specific purpose. Don't you want to see the result?"

"Won't they be embarrassed if I do?" she asked, uncertain.

"If he really wants to ask her, he won't care who's there. And if she really wants to go with him, she won't either. Besides, maybe you didn't come to see that at all. Maybe—just maybe—you came to watch _your_ date play," he suggested with a smile.

Lily smiled and agreed. James Potter was the last person she ever would have expected to get advice from, but she had to admit he was smart about people in a way she never had been.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading, especially after my ridiculously long hiatus of (I believe) exactly two months. Reviews would be greatly appreciated, and may even inspire me to write and update faster. :)<strong>


	13. Distractions

After classes, Lily intended to meander down to the Quidditch pitch. She would do her schoolwork while they practiced flying too high, then watch Ronan ask Isla to the Halloween Ball. Maybe James would even walk back to the castle with her, if he was in the mood to act like a gentleman. He was in that mood with increasing frequency, Lily noted with a barely concealed smile.

Ronan, of course, had other plans. "Come on, Lily, we're going to be late!" he told her for the tenth time in just a few minutes.

Finally, she gave in. "We can't have that, can we Ronan?" she asked with a smile. "I'll race you there!" Running with books really was a stupid idea, she decided just seconds after she declared the challenge. Maybe she should just leave them...but that wasn't a good idea either, as they might get lost. Or stolen. Or ruined. So she would just have to deal with it and run while holding her heavy books.

"Come on, slow poke!" Ronan shouted from in front of her.

Lily hated to lose. Even if it was just a race against a third year. She sped up. So did he. In fact, he ran a lot faster. She hadn't gotten all that far when he had reached the pitch and disappeared inside the stands. She gave up and slowed to a walk. If it had been a fair race, and she hadn't been carrying so many books, maybe she could have won, but Ronan was fast.

James suddenly appeared in front of her—no, she corrected herself, he _landed_ in front of her—smiling. "Lily, I thought you were smart! Nobody challenges that kid to a race, on foot or otherwise. He's just too fast. If my Quidditch team wasn't already full, or happened to be looking for a Seeker…" he trailed off, still smiling at her. "Would you like a ride?" he asked hopefully.

"Don't go too high or too fast," she warned him, climbing on the broomstick behind him. "I can only hold on with one arm."

"Please enlighten me as to why the smartest girl in the school saw fit to bring _books_ to a _Quidditch practice_, Lily."

"You said it, not me."

"You won't be able to study, anyway," he bragged. "You'll be too entertained watching my team in the air, wishing you were flying with us."

"Or glad to have my feet firmly on the ground," she protested as he allowed his broom to rise slightly. She panicked and moved her arm from the broom to James. She felt safer holding on to him than she had trying to grip the flimsy broomstick they were sitting on.

"Come on, Lily, flying is fun," he insisted. "Look, this isn't as bad as last night, and it's only your second flight."

"Tell me when we're there," she said, hiding her face against his back as he flew carefully towards the pitch. She didn't realize how potentially stupid it might be to arrive at Quidditch practice clinging to James on his broom until it was too late to change her mind. Besides, he was being a gentleman, and she didn't really want to walk, and James smelled kind of nice, and he had muscles...but she couldn't think about that, because they were friends, Lily reminded herself.

Still, it was kind of a good feeling to be sitting so close to him.

She felt her feet touch the ground before James said anything, and she allowed herself only a second to think that maybe he was enjoying the moment, too.

"Lily, we're here," he told her quietly as she stepped off the broom. "Not many people yet, but they'll be here. Most of Gryffindor and a few people from other Houses usually turn up to watch our practices. Makes learning new tricks hard, but that's the price we pay for being the best."

"Get on the field, James. Your team is waiting."

"Will you be waiting when we're done?" he asked playfully.

"No," she said and watched his face fall. "A certain Seeker is going to fly right back up here so that I don't have to," she teased back. "But right now, he's going to fly down to that Quidditch pitch before one of his Beaters decides it's time to hurry him up a bit."

"Sirius does look mildly upset, doesn't he?" James said. "I'll have to remind him who's Captain of this Quidditch team if he tries anything fishy…Meanwhile, Lily, would you hold my cloak? I won't need it while we're flying, and I thought if it gets cold out you might like having it, and—"

"James," she interrupted, "Go practice with your team. I'll stay here and watch, and I'll even hold onto your cloak for you."

He smiled that brilliant smile that she was coming to quite like. "I'll be back in two hours, Lily."

She tried not to be excited that she was sitting here, watching James in his element on the Quidditch pitch, or that she was waiting for him after practice, or that he had given her his cloak for the night, and she failed miserably. After all, James _was_ her friend, and if she _happened_ to think he was incredibly good-looking, there wasn't anything wrong with her. Half the school's population would agree on that point.

During the entire two hours she spent sitting in the Quidditch stands on that chilly fall day, Lily, the school's most studious student, was so enthralled by the figures on broomsticks (rather, one specific boy with particularly messy hair) and the ball proposal after practice (Isla _did _say yes, after all) that she did no homework whatsoever.

* * *

><p><em>I'm back after ANOTHER too-long hiatus...<em>

_...but on the bright side, I've taken all my AP exams and am now stress-free :)_

_I'd love it if you'd take the time to review! If you've gotten this far, I want to know what made you keep reading!_


	14. After Practice

James blew his whistle to clear the pitch at the end of practice. As the rest of the team floated down to the ground and went into the locker room, he and Sirius gathered and secured all the equipment the team had used that night.

"I'll take this back to the Quidditch office," Sirius volunteered. "There's a pretty bird waiting for you in the stands."

"Thanks, Padfoot," James said, glancing up to where Lily was sitting. "I owe you one."

"You sure do, mate," Sirius agreed. "Now go see her instead of dawdling here, talking to boring old me."

James was happy to see that Lily was wearing his cloak, not just holding on to it as she had promised. Lily must have noticed what he was looking at. "Do you need this back?" she asked reluctantly, gesturing to the cloak.

"Not now," James said. "I'm warm enough at the moment. Just ran an intense Quidditch practice and all that. How about you keep it until we get back to the castle?"

Lily smiled involuntarily. "Okay." She bit her lip, considering her next question. "Do you think we could fly over to the lake first? I love it at this time of night."

"Of course we could," James said, startled. Since when had Lily wanted to fly with him?

Sitting on a rock, looking over the lake as the sun set, James risked putting an arm around Lily's waist. To the almost-complete surprise of both students, she leaned her head on his shoulder in response.

"There's a game this Saturday," he mused. "Will you be coming?"

"I _do _have to cheer my team on, James. Yes, I'll be there."

"Would you consider wearing my practice cloak again?"

"Do you want me to?" she asked.

"Yes. I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine, but I just thought maybe you'd like it, since it's Gryffindor colors, and it will be cold out again…"

"How about I just keep it until then?" she asked carefully.

He grinned at her. "I don't mind."

She smiled back. "Thanks, James."

"You know, we better get back," he suggested. "Practice ended a while ago. People will start to talk."

"About what?" Lily asked. She knew perfectly well what the topic of gossip would be; she just kind of wanted to hear him say it.

"About _us_, Lily," he told her quietly. "You apparently hated me last year, and now you've snuck off with me after a Quidditch practice. To top it all off, you've got my practice cloak. People will start to wonder what's going on."

"I never hated you," she protested.

James laughed. Out of everything he had just said, _that_ was the one thing she had chosen to object to. "Sometimes it seemed like you did."

"I was frustrated."

"By what?"

"Your arrogance. Did you seriously think that I would just get exasperated enough to say yes to you, just to make you stop asking me out?"

"No, Lily. I hoped you would finally say yes because you wanted to date me."

"It's been a while since you asked," she noted casually.

"It has," he agreed. "Maybe even too long. Lily Evans, would you consider being my girlfriend?"

She twined her ankle around his and smiled at him yet again. "Yes, James Potter. Yes."

* * *

><p><em>Pretty short, I know. Please don't hate me for it. But really, anything more in this chapter and either I'd never get it written (I currently have procrastination issues because it's summer) or it could be a bit overwhelming to read (in my opinion, at least). If all goes as planned, the next one<em> _should__be quite a bit longer._

_What do you think? Reviews—both positive and negative—are always appreciated! :)_


	15. Interrogations

It would have been a perfect moment to kiss him, Lily thought as she ascended the stairs to her dorm that night. Actually, there were several moments when she could have kissed her boyfriend. When he asked her out, when he called her beautiful, when he said goodnight at the foot of her stairs...but since when had she wanted to kiss James Potter?

Alice was waiting to ambush her when she got back. "I heard you went to Quidditch practice, Lily. _And_ that you went somewhere with James Potter afterwards," she accused. "Why didn't your best friend hear about this from you, before it happened? Why did I have to hear about it from that third-year you tutor in Potions?"

"First of all," Lily said, "Was it Ronan or Isla who told you?"

"Both of them! Apparently he asked her to the Halloween Ball after practice, and you knew about it."

"Ronan asked me to be there when he asked her. I took homework to work on until it was over, but he was just so excited I couldn't refuse to go," Lily insisted.

"But you went somewhere with James Potter after practice?" Alice demanded.

"Yeah, that," Lily stalled. "I hadn't planned on it, really, Alice."

Alice suddenly smiled. "Well, come on! I want to hear all about it. Put your stuff down, Lily, and we'll talk."

"About that...don't freak out, Alice, please?" Lily asked as she set down her books and James' Quidditch practice cloak.

"Why would I freak out?" Alice asked. "You've only got _James Potter's_ cloak." She grabbed it before Lily could react. _Potter_ was spelled out in gold lettering on the red fabric.

"He gave it to me at practice. I didn't realize how cold it was outside."

"But you still have it," Alice persisted. "Lily, what's going on between the two of you?"

"It was still cold after practice."

"Lily, practice has been over for an hour and a half," Alice scolded. "Where have you been with James?"

"Well," Lily said, looking down and away from her best friend. "We might have flown over to the lake and talked for a while."

"About?" Alice prompted.

"Life," Lily answered noncommittally.

Alice rolled her eyes. "I know James still has some of your Veritaserum—unused, of course, Lily. You could start being a little more helpful before I have to go beg some off of him."

"Fine," Lily agreed. "Fine. He flew me to the lake, and we sat on those big rocks and talked for a while. He eventually suggested that we should get back to the castle because of all the rumors we would be starting about ourselves—"

"People have already started talking," Alice interrupted.

"Then we argued a bit about the fact that I never really hated him, just got insanely frustrated by his antics—"

"You could have fooled me," Alice interrupted again.

"And then he asked me out."

Alice waited a moment, but Lily seemed to be done with her story. "And?"

"And what?" Lily asked.

"What did you say?"

Lily smiled. "Can't you tell?"

Alice shrieked. "Lily Evans! Do you mean to tell me that you said _yes_?"

"Shush, Alice, not so loud. The whole school is going to hear!"

###

In the boys' dormitory, everyone was getting ready for bed when they heard Alice's screamed question. "Hey Prongs," Sirius said. "Do you know what it is that Lily said yes to?"

"Me," James said.

"Finally," Remus added. "Now we don't have to counsel him after all his failed attempts at asking her out."

"No," Sirius agreed. "We'll just have to counsel him on how to have a real relationship, which is infinitely harder."

"I'll figure it out," James protested. "And when have I ever needed counseling when she said no?"

Sirius and Remus cringed as Peter volunteered that information. "Every time. You're always a wreck afterwards."

"Liar."

Remus changed topic. "You're going to the Halloween Ball with Lily Evans, Prongs."

"Oh, I asked her to that ages ago. She said yes, of course. It was that night after we fought about her Veritaserum and I almost took your head off with a cauldron, Sirius."

"So what did she say yes to this time?" Sirius asked.

"She agreed to be my girlfriend," James announced triumphantly. "And she's wearing my cloak to the Quidditch game."

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading, everybody! I appreciate all the favorites and story alerts, but reviews are nice too :)<em>


	16. Starting Rumors

Never an early riser, Lily tended to roll out of bed ten minutes before she absolutely had to. She would rake a brush through her hair, throw on a clean set of robes, and run downstairs to breakfast.

For this reason, it was truly remarkable that Lily was up at the crack of dawn the next morning. She brushed her red hair until it shone, put on some makeup, and spent at least fifteen minutes fidgeting with her robes until they hung perfectly. Unable to restrain herself any longer, she rushed downstairs to the common room to meet James.

Oddly enough, she noted happily, he was also down early. He was known for skipping breakfast and eating whatever Sirius had thought to bring him from the Great Hall during his first class.

He smiled at her, then gestured to the portrait-hole. "Let's walk, shall we?"

Why would she resist anything her boyfriend suggested? With a smile playing on her own lips, she followed him out of Gryffindor Tower. He turned to her as soon as they were out. "There are a few ways we can do this, Lily," he said

"The easy way or the hard way?" she suggested without thinking.

He laughed. "I hadn't thought of it that way, but I suppose you could call it that. The easy way is that we admit we're dating this morning, by walking into the Great Hall holding hands or something. Then we have nothing to worry about except jealous peers."

"And the hard way?" Lily prompted.

"That will take infinitely more effort. We don't confirm anything, we act like normal. Except that I brag about the wonderful, beautiful girlfriend I'm bringing to the Halloween Ball, and get everyone to wonder who she is. It's exactly a week from tomorrow, and I'm not sure I can hide it for that long, nor that I want to, but it would sure create a scene when we walk into the Ball together."

"And you like to create a scene."

"You know that's true," he admitted.

"Let's give the hard way a shot," she agreed after a moment of thinking. "I'm more than slightly curious to hear what you might say about me if I don't hex you the second you open your mouth to talk about me."

"I was hoping you'd let me do that. The only issue is my practice cloak tomorrow…"

"You don't think you're getting that back, do you?" she asked. "I won't wear it to the match tomorrow—only because it could completely wreck this brilliant plan—but I'm keeping it. I'm planning to wear it to every other game this season, and there's nothing you can do about it."

At breakfast, Lily and James sat across the table from each other, just to discourage rumors. James informed the Marauders that the plan was in motion, and Lily whispered to Alice what she had decided with James.

Ciara McGinnis, a sixth year Hufflepuff, shyly walked across the Great Hall and approached James. "Hi, umm, I was just wondering if, just maybe, you'd like to invite me to the, umm, Halloween Ball?"

James smiled gently. Lily noticed he was really getting good at this gentlemanly stuff. "I'm flattered that you would consider going with me, Ciara, but I'm afraid I'll be going with my girlfriend to the Ball," he said.

"Who?" she asked stunned. Several other people who had been pretending to mind their own business dropped the charade to listen more closely.

"My girlfriend," James repeated.

"I understand that," Ciara said impatiently. "But who is she?"

James resisted turning around to look at Lily. Much as he wanted to, he knew it would give him away. "The most beautiful girl I've ever met," he said simply.

"What's her name?" she finally asked.

James smiled. "Her name…oh, her name is almost as beautiful as the girl herself."

Ciara threw up her hands in frustration, but didn't walk away. She wanted to be the one who knew, the one James would tell, who everyone would come to ask.

"Whisper it in my ear?" she suggested, too sweetly, as she leaned into him. And pulled away looking even angrier. "NO?" she shouted. "Really, Potter? That's all you have to say to me?"

He smirked. "You'll have to find out who she is on the day of the Ball, just like everyone else. Except...her...of course."

"You know what? I for one don't believe you even have a date. Since when has James Potter ever missed an opportunity to brag about his conquests with a girl?"

He grimaced. "If that's what you think, you don't know me at all, McGinnis."

"Maybe I don't, Potter. But I do know that no girl in her right mind would want to go to a dance with such an arrogant fool," she snapped.

"Didn't you want to go with me?" he asked, still smirking.

"Are you asking me?" she challenged with a gleam in her eye, all anger forgotten.

"No. I believe Miss...Mystery would have my head if I so much as thought about it. Have a nice day, McGinnis."

As she walked across the Hall, clearly upset, Sirius demanded his friend's attention. "So, James, who is this Miss Mystery you're so excited about?"

James just smiled.

And Lily knew that _that _question, asked by none other than Sirius Black, with _that _response from his best friend James Potter, would have the whole school talking for the next week. She couldn't have been more pleased.

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><p><strong><em>I believe I'm kind of on an updating roll...four updates (granted, three of them were for another story) in two days. I'll try to keep it up, especially since I now have a computer of my very own and don't need to share with five other people :)<em>**

**_I'd love to hear what you think, whether positive or critical. Reviews make my day much better and help me write faster. Thanks for reading!_**


	17. Day One

It was harder than Lily expected to stay away from James. She knew their scheme didn't necessarily call for separation, but she just felt too happy when she was with him. Someone might notice, and then the plan would be ruined.

The rumors didn't really get circulating until lunch, which James elected to skip. Ciara McGinnis smiled knowingly and told her friends that he was obviously off with his girlfriend; they just had to figure out who was missing from lunch that day. That plan failed miserably, as everyone ate lunch at their own pace. No one could quite remember who had been there and already left as opposed to who had chosen to miss lunch all together.

By dinner, the rumors had changed. James obviously didn't _have_ a girlfriend, and was desperately plotting who to take to the Halloween Ball so he didn't look completely stupid. He just had to figure out who to ask that wouldn't give away his bluff from this morning.

During dessert, Lily noticed Remus casually slip a note to Alice, who handed it to Lily.

_**Come visit me tonight? Bring your best friend if you'd like. She has something of mine that might be useful if you don't want to be seen. I just can't bear not talking to my beautiful girlfriend all day.**_

_**Love always,**_

_**James Potter**_

Alice opened her bag slightly to reveal James' Invisibility Cloak tucked between her Transfiguration and Arithmancy textbooks. Lily just barely hid a smile as she tucked his secretive note into her own pocket.

She looked toward James, catching his attention, then away, slightly nodding her head in another direction. He smiled and muttered, "Bloody excellent," catching stares from the few students within hearing distance. "I love this pudding," he quickly added.

Lily and Alice rolled their eyes at each other and got up from the table. "Lily is headed back to Gryffindor Tower," Alice told Remus. "I'll walk her there, then be back here soon." He easily understood to pass the message to James when they were gone, but to leave enough time that it wasn't suspicious.

The girls were among the first back to the common room, and didn't have to wait long for the first and second years who had already finished eating to forget their presence. When they were sure no one was watching, they pulled the Invisibility cloak over their heads and went up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. Quietly, they let themselves into the one marked sixth years and settled down to wait for the Marauders' return.

Safe from prying eyes, since the four boys were the only sixth year Gryffindors, they removed the cloak and relaxed. Not five minutes later, James and Sirius walked in, laughing and carrying on. James noticed the girls and did a double-take, then smirked. "You really couldn't wait to see me, huh, Lily?" he asked.

She blushed. "I seriously hope I'll be able to keep this up for a week. One day was hard enough, and I know the rumors haven't even really started yet."

James' smirk became a grin as he sat down next to her on the bed. "If you want to do it, we'll manage. If you decide it's too hard, I'll happily confirm to the whole school that you are indeed my girlfriend."

Alice suddenly spoke up. "I sort of need to go. I promised Frank I'd meet him after dinner for a walk, but I can't be seen coming out of the boys' dormitories."

James didn't even flinch. "Sirius, take her down with the Invisibility Cloak. I don't care whether you're under it or not, but make sure she isn't noticed. Get her somewhere safe to take it off, then be sure to bring it back here."

"Sure thing, mate," Sirius said. "Enjoy your time with your girl, yeah?"

James shoved him out the door. "Just get going before I decide to hex you."

"You couldn't hex me," Sirius protested.

"Lily could, and I bet she would. Right Lily?"

"Of course," Lily agreed.

Sirius threw the cloak over Alice, making sure her feet were obscured completely, then led her down the stairs. "Sirius is good at this," James assured Lily. "He's done it plenty of times with everything we need to smuggle in and out of the school. Alice is one of the more...cooperative...of our smuggled goods."

Lily purposefully avoided that comment. She really didn't want to know what they did that involved so much secrecy. "How was your day?" she asked instead.

"Let's see," James said. "I got asked to the Halloween Ball by four different girls thinking I made you up—and said no to all of them, Lily, don't worry. I was accosted by at least seven girls trying to figure out who you were—I told them all how beautiful you were, but wouldn't give them any more hints than that. Most guys glared at me, seeing as this is, unfortunately, the perfect scheme to get the attention of every girl in Hogwarts. So I'd say...hectic, or maybe even chaotic."

"Wow," Lily said. "You poor, poor boy...and to think I didn't have to endure any of that, because no one suspects I'd ever go to the Ball with you."

James grimaced at that statement. "You don't have to remind me of all those years."

"James," Lily said. "I wouldn't even be going to the Ball if you hadn't asked me. I would have turned down any other guy who even tried, because I want to be there with you. So yes, I may have been a complete idiot for five years, but I'm glad you kept chasing me."

James smiled as Sirius came back through the door with Peter and Remus. "Alice is safe, with Frank. I made sure of it. Now would you two stop with all the mushy talk please? I'm already sick of it," he complained.

* * *

><p><em>Will they be able to keep it up? You might be able to find out soon, if you leave enough reviews that I'm inspired to post the next chapter...<em>

_As an added bonus, I'll respond to any questions in your reviews :)_


	18. Veritaserum

It wasn't long before Lily and Remus, as Prefects, had to start rounds for the night. Lily waved goodbye to a pouting James, but could do no more than that before they headed quietly down the stairs. Remus was as careful as Sirius had been with Alice while smuggling Lily down the stairs from the boys' dormitories and out the portrait hole. With no one in sight, she quickly removed the cloak and handed it to him, combing her fingers through her hair to neaten it up a bit.

The rounds were comfortable, albeit boring, for the first hour until Remus broke the silence. "Lily, we need to talk about some things."

"What is it?"

He led her into an empty classroom. "Let's stay here for a bit."

"Remus, what is it?" Lily repeated with panic growing in her voice.

"Relax, Lily, nothing is wrong. I just need to talk to you about James."

"Oh, umm, I guess that's alright," she said awkwardly. "About what in particular?"

"Don't hate me, Lily, but I'm doing this for two of my best friends, to keep them from hurting each other. Would you _please_ consider taking some Veritaserum? It's from the supply James nicked from your cauldron in Potions, but he doesn't know I have it." He held the small vial out to her. Angrily, she took it and drained its contents into her mouth, and Remus breathed a sigh in relief. "Thank you, Lily. I just need to know that what you're telling me is the truth."

"When have I ever lied to you, Remus?"

"Either you've been lying to me for the past five years, or you're lying to me now. There's no way you could have gone from hating James so completely to being his girlfriend in less than six months. So tell me: What do you think of him right now?"

Lily looked down and covered her face. "I like him. A lot. Sometimes he's a completely arrogant bloody git. I just can't find it in myself to hate him for it anymore, no matter what he does."

"Okay, what did you think of him for the past five years?"

"That he was an arrogant bloody git."

"See, Lily, this is what I'm talking about. It isn't really possible that you've suddenly developed feelings for a boy you've hated for five years. So please enlighten me. What changed your mind?"

"James has always cared about me, even when he was being an arrogant toerag. I thought maybe I'd give him a chance. I let my guard down around him—I let him in, I got to know him—and found out he's really sweet when he wants to be."

"Do you think you could maybe be a bit more specific? This will all stay between us, I promise," he said, acting as if she wasn't talking as a result of Veritaserum.

Lily took a deep breath. "After what happened with Sev last year—please don't ask me about that, I don't want to talk about it—everyone was acting like I was so fragile. No one talked to me about it. About halfway through the summer, out of nowhere, I got an owl from James, apologizing for his part in it. He seemed almost as upset about it as I was, and he was willing to talk about it like no one else would. I needed that more than anything in the world. That was when I stopped trying to hate him."

"Trying to hate him?" Remus asked, confused.

"I definitely hated him until fourth year. Then I started to notice that he was handsome, but I couldn't let him get to me because I was the only girl unaffected by his so-called charm. I focused on his faults—I had a list of them, can you believe that?—so that he wouldn't be able to get to me. I reminded myself constantly why I hated him, but it was getting a little unbelievable. By fifth year, it was nothing more than a habit that I thought I didn't need to break. And then, the incident and the letters."

"Lily, I just need to know one last thing," Remus said cautiously. "This has nothing to do with trying to make Severus jealous?"

"Do you _honestly_ think I'm that shallow?" Lily screamed. "I wouldn't do that to James, he's—he's _James Potter_. He's too—I don't know—I just couldn't do that to him. And why would I want to make Sev jealous? I want _nothing _to do with him, after what he called me! In front of everyone!"

"I'm sorry, Lily, I just had to ask. James is one of my best friends, and I don't want you to hurt him."

"I won't hurt him," Lily sulked. "I really hate you right now, Remus."

He cringed. "You're allowed to hate me. I should have bloody trusted you, Lily. I think I knew you really had decided he was alright, but I just couldn't believe it. It was so different, so…"

"Not like myself," Lily finished for him. "I know how the four of you saw me: I was a challenge. I was just as arrogant and stubborn as James, maybe even more so. It's true, I suppose, but I'm tired of resisting. I can be his girlfriend just as stubbornly."

"What happens when you get tired of that?" Remus asked.

Lily just smiled. "I never will."

* * *

><p><em>Let me just warn you: I'm on vacation. My internet access is sporadic at best. I'll write while I'm here, and I'll post if I happen to have access to the internet. No promises. I should be back in town in about ten days, and I'll have new, prewritten chapters to add :)<em>


	19. Quidditch

The next morning, Lily didn't know how to act. She never really went to Quidditch games, though figured she could make an exception for today. But she didn't know who to sit with because Alice would be with Frank. After Veritaserum, she didn't know what to do about talking to Remus.

The issue was solved for her at breakfast, when an owl swooped in front of her and dropped a package on the table. The note on it was clearly from James, as she recognized his handwriting instantly.

**_If you'd like to wear my cloak today, I have no problem admitting we're dating. If not, I thought you might appreciate a classic Gryffindor jumper. Half the House wears them to chilly games, and you'd fit right in. Remus says he's sorry, but won't tell me why. Please sit with him and Peter in their regular seats, so I can see you without making a production out of looking for you. Love always._**

The package was obviously the Gryffindor jumper, and Lily found herself excited to go to the game. Even if she had to endure it with Remus, she would get a chance to shamelessly watch James without drawing suspicions to herself.

When she opened the jumper, she immediately knew that it was his. It carried his distinct aroma, a scent she could never quite place as anything other than _James_. She was more than a little excited as she put it on over her casual clothes.

Alice looked at her knowingly. "It's from him, isn't it?"

"Of course," Lily told her in a whisper. "Just be quiet about it, because everyone needs to assume it's mine."

Alice rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous, Lils." But she didn't press the issue any further.

On the walk down to the Quidditch Pitch, Remus and Peter joined Lily not long after Alice had left with Frank Longbottom. "We're here to escort you, madam," Peter said pompously.

Remus cringed. "Lily, I'm sorry—really, I am. I was _so _stupid not to believe you."

Lily nodded tentatively. "Okay. Let's go watch the game."

The three of them didn't really talk the rest of the way to the Pitch, and Lily was glad. It made it that much easier to act like nothing was wrong between them. Peter finally broke the silence. "James was a bit frantic this morning, wasn't he?"

Remus agreed. "His team _did_ fall apart quite badly."

Lily was unable to remain uninterested. "What happened?"

"Kelsey Trivatello, his star Chaser, broke up with Landon Hutchcroft, the Keeper, late last night. She quit the team this morning to stay away from him, and he doesn't have any reserve Chasers good enough to play without practicing. There is a reserve Seeker: Ronan Keir, a third year. James was frantic enough to give Keir a spot on the team."

"If Ronan is the Seeker, what will James be doing?" Lily asked, confused.

"He'll be filling in as the third Chaser," Remus said. "He knows the plays as well as any of them, and I personally think he'd rather play as a Chaser than a Seeker. He just has to build a big enough lead that it doesn't matter whether Keir can catch the Snitch."

"The only problem," Peter added, "is that the other two Chasers—Henrietta Crippen and Isla Spillane—have never really played with him before. They're used to playing with Kelsey, so they're insanely nervous about the switch."

Lily tuned out as the boys continued discussing Quidditch tactics and deciding exactly how likely a Gryffindor victory might be. As they climbed into the stands, Lily marveled at how high their regular seats were; she usually chose one of the lowest available if she took the time to come to a match.

As the teams took the field, Lily focused on the captains of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw as they shook hands. James then turned to his teammates, presumably to remind them of their new roster. Ronan and Isla, the youngest members of the well-respected Gryffindor team, didn't look nearly as nervous as James himself did.

When the whistle blew, the teams took to the air. James was extremely quick to catch the Quaffle. In no time, he created the perfect chance for Henrietta Crippen, a fourth year, to score the first goal of the game. Beside Lily, Remus and Peter began discussing the possible advantages of having a trained Seeker play as a Chaser: remarkably fast reaction time, superior flying ability, and other ideas that got too technical for Lily to understand.

Never having really watched a Quidditch game in its entirety, Lily was fascinated. The precision with which her classmates flew was simply amazing. James was particularly fond of pulling himself off a collision course with something—whether it was a teammate, opponent, goalpost, or spectator didn't matter—at the last possible second, resulting in quite a few crashes by other players trying to take the Quaffle from his possession.

After nearly four hours, a longer game than Hogwarts was accustomed to, the whistle was finally blown. Lily realized belatedly that it meant the Snitch had been caught, and she looked frantically for Ronan. He was already on the ground, his fist held high over his head. Lily could only assume that he was holding the Snitch, declaring Gryffindor's victory over Ravenclaw.

The only thing that could have made it better would have been wearing his cloak, or perhaps meeting him down on the field afterwards. But then she remembered the jumper she was currently wearing belonged to James, and that dancing with him at the Halloween Ball the next weekend would be infinitely better than celebrating a Quidditch victory. Maybe.

A part of her wanted to say that keeping her relationship with James secret didn't really matter anymore, but she knew she wanted to see shock on the face of every other girl who had a crush on James when the two of them walked into that dance together.

So she cheered for the win, exactly like every other Gryffindor in the stands.


	20. Preparations

The week passed surprisingly fast for Lily. She was always occupied, with everything from homework to quietly listening to the rumor mill for any new rumors about James Potter. It didn't take long for the students to decide he _couldn't _be dating Lily; he would be too ecstatic to keep that a secret. So it stood to reason that he had found someone _new_, someone who was interested in him, as well.

Lily kept a list of all the different stories she had heard about his mysterious date. He didn't have one and had lied at breakfast, just to create a stir, with no intentions of bringing anyone. He didn't have one then, but had since acquired a girlfriend. He was dating a Veela and had gotten permission to bring her into Hogwarts for a dance. He was trying to make Lily jealous, so he would be bringing someone whom he didn't care about. He had actually gotten over Lily, and the new girlfriend was the girl he truly loved. The list went on and on, and every single guess was wrong.

When Saturday morning came, Lily was shocked that they had really managed to keep their relationship a secret for over a week. Of course, it helped that James had the Invisibility Cloak, allowing them to see each other very secretly.

Lily and Alice, along with the other sixth and seventh year girls, were at breakfast by nine. None of them had reallywanted to wake up that early, but they had to if they wanted enough time to get ready for the Ball. It wasn't that they personally needed that much time, but that they were expected to help the younger girls get ready, too.

They spent their time that morning gossiping while doing their hair and makeup, then setting it in place with charms designed specifically for that purpose. It was nearly two before they started helping the younger girls get ready, but they knew their hard day of work would be worth it when the dance came around.

The biggest topic of conversation was speculation on who James Potter would be dancing with. "Does anyone know who my future husband will be with tonight?" Aliyah Preams asked of no one in particular.

Lily snorted. "Obviously not you, if you have to ask that about your _future husband_."

"If you're such an expert," Aliyah shot back, "who do _you _think he's going with?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I certainly don't envy her, whoever she is; I've spent five years trying to get him off my back."

"You know something," Kelsey Trivatello accused. "Otherwise you'd just guess a random girl, like anyone else would."

Lily smirked. "Maybe I do, and maybe I don't. You'll just have to wait and see."

"Give us a hint," Aliyah begged.

"That wouldn't be fair, now, would it?" Lily said. "As arrogant as Potter is, I'm sure his date wants everyone to be surprised, too. I'm not telling anything."

###

"James," Sirius warned, "if you don't get out of bed within the next five minutes, I'm taking it into my own hands."

James rolled over and groaned. "I'm getting up, don't worry. What time is it?"

Sirius glanced at the clock. "Maybe if you had your glasses on, you could see for yourself."

James tossed his pillow at his friend. "Just tell me, you bloody git."

"About noon," Sirius said ambiguously. "Now, are you going to get up on your own or do I have to dump water all over you to get you out of bed?"

James sat up slowly. "Remind me why I need to get up before dinner, again, Sirius."

Sirius punched his friend in the shoulder. "I'm up _right now_ and have nothing to do until dinner, you git. Besides, the Halloween Ball is tonight."

James smiled involuntarily. "I'm going with Lily."

Sirius sighed, exasperated. "I know that, so you might not want to be half asleep when you're dancing with her. Right, mate?"

"Right," James agreed. "Just give me a little more time to—"

Sirius pointed his wand at James. "You get up right now, or I cast _Aguamenti _on you."

"Fine," James grumbled as he finally got up. "I hate you, Sirius."

"I've got plenty of Firewhisky—and some Butterbeer, too—for after the dance tonight. This will be a Gryffindor party to rival the Quidditch celebrations."

"I knew there was a reason you're my best mate, Sirius," James said, laughing. "Let's go get some breakfast."

"Lunch," Sirius corrected.

"It doesn't matter; it's food, isn't it? I'm hungry."

"And after lunch?" Sirius prompted.

"We'll cause some trouble for a little while, then we have to get ready for the Ball."


	21. Grand Entrance

After a day of preparation, the time for the Halloween Ball had finally arrived. Girls gathered up their purses before heading downstairs to meet up with their dates and boyfriends. As Lily picked up her belongings to leave, Aliyah and Kelsey stopped her.

"Look, Evans. We know you know who Potter's date is," Aliyah started. "Either you tell us now, or you will be very sorry later."

Lily hesitated.

"The dance is starting in a few minutes," Kelsey added. "It's not like we'll ruin the surprise. We can pretend we know nothing."

Lily smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, but I promised I wouldn't discuss it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and meet _my _date before he gets too impatient.

Aliyah snorted. "Since when does _Lily Evans_ go to dances with a _date_?"

"Since I decided I really like this guy. Have fun without your future husband, Aliyah. I really hope your date doesn't mind it."

"It's you!" Kelsey suddenly shrieked. "You're going with Potter as a fake date! I knew it! That's why he wanted to make such a big deal about it."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Listen to yourself, Trivatello. I would _never_ stoop to the level of pretending to date someone. That would be cruel even to Potter." She turned her back on them and headed to the Gryffindor common room then out the portrait-hole alone. It gave the impression that she was meeting a boy from another House. In reality, she and James were meeting in an empty classroom to prepare for their grand entrance.

###

For some unknown reason, James had chosen McGonagall's classroom as their meeting place. It seemed right to him because it would be easy to find and was near the Great Hall without being _too _close.

The one thing he didn't account for was that he would be insanely nervous before meeting Lily for this dance, he thought as he opened the door. The other thing he didn't plan for, he realized, was that they were screwed if anyone else was in that classroom, but those sudden fears were unfounded. To his immense relief, the room was empty. Now all he had to do was wait here for Lily, assuming that she would show up.

Of course he had confidence in his girlfriend. He was just scared, never having done anything remotely like this with a girl he remotely cared about before.

###

Lily pushed open the classroom door to find James facing away from the door, running his hands through his hair, looking stressed. Moving quietly, she slowly walked up behind him, then ducked to his side and put her arms around him. Almost without thinking, his arms came down from his hair to wrap around her in return.

"Are you ready, James?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," he said. "Let's go, beautiful." He took her hand and placed it in the crook of his elbow without removing his own hand.

The walk to the Great Hall was quiet, but filled with excitement. They passed no one in the corridors, as not many students had yet to arrive at the dance. Just before they entered, Lily pulled James aside. "It _is_ a Halloween Ball, James," she said as she waved her wand. A delicate black mask with intricate green details to match her dress appeared on her face, resting there of its own accord. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful," James whispered. It was apparently all he could say, as he turned to lead her into the Great Hall.

As expected, his arrival captured the attention of most everyone there. It took a moment for anyone to recognize Lily because of the mask, but not long. "_Lily Evans_?" someone shrieked.

The spell was broken, and people resumed their own conversations, the mystery solved. However, those conversations centered around the two people who had just walked in.

"Potter said he was bringing his beautiful _girlfriend_ to the Ball. Evans certainly is beautiful tonight. Does that mean she and Potter…?"

"I wonder what he had to do to convince her to come on his arm."

"What could she have done to get him to forgive her for the last five years of animosity?"

"She can't really be happy with him; she hates him. She said it herself at the end of last year."

Lily heard the whispers, but paid them no mind. She was here to have fun with her wonderful boyfriend, James Potter.

* * *

><p><em>It's been a while, and I'm sorry. But I've started college, and have plenty on my plate right now. I'm majoring in architecture and have already had a few late nights in the studio. I'm also the principal flutist in the university band, which is no small accomplishment or responsibility. Not to mention I have other classes which also require work. <em>

_So for the next four years, course work comes first. If and when that's done, I may have time to write. Updates will be less frequent, but I am not abandoning this story or either of the others I'm currently writing. The feedback I receive will indicate which story gets updated first when I have time. If you want it to be this one, review please!_

_Thank you for your understanding of all this, and I hope you continue to read and enjoy :)_


	22. Dance

James could really dance, Lily was happy to notice. He knew the steps to each dance and didn't once step on her feet. They never faltered, twirling around the dance floor song after song, until the band announced the start the infamous Dragon's Waltz would be in five minutes. It was the most difficult dance to do, in Lily's opinion, but gorgeous to watch.

James rested his forehead against hers. "Want to give it a try, beautiful?" he asked with a smile.

She smiled back. "I'm game if you are."

The floor cleared slowly, giving the few ambitious couples who wanted to try it plenty of room to maneuver.

"I've never danced this with a girl," James admitted quietly. "Sirius and I learned and taught each other, but it was a little awkward pretending he was the girl. Or the boy, for that matter."

Lily laughed. "I've only ever danced it with the girls in my dormitory. Is Sirius any good at it?"

James narrowed his eyes. "Quite. Why, Lily?"

"Why isn't he up here getting ready to dance, then?"

"Chicken," James told her. "He won't ask any girl to join him."

"He could have any girl he wanted," Lily said absently.

"_Any_ girl?" James questioned.

"Except the one already taken by his best friend, of course."

James bent down to whisper in her ear. "He would _love _to dance with Henrietta Crippen. Sucks he won't ask her."

"He is quite in luck, then. She's often a member of our practice sessions, and knows the dance almost as well as I do." Lily turned around in his arms, never letting herself break contact with James. "Ria!" she called to her friend, who was just one year younger than them. "Want to dance the Dragon's Waltz with your crush?" She switched to a whisper. "I've just learned that Sirius Black is quite the master of this dance, but too scared to ask anyone."

"And _that_," James whispered in her ear, "is why I have the perfect girlfriend." He gracefully twirled her around so that she was facing him again. "Lily," he said quietly before placing a gentle kiss on her cheek.

Sirius and Henrietta were suddenly next to them. "I told you guys," Sirius said, "keep the bloody mushiness to yourselves when other people are around!" But he was smiling, which kind of undermined the whole thing.

Sirius twirled Henrietta a few times to get warmed up. Each time she was facing away from him, Lily could clearly see how elated he was to be dancing with her. Even when she _was _facing him, he looked incredibly happy.

"You have made my best friend's night," James whispered in her ear. "Now, beautiful, are you ready for this?" he asked as the music started to play.

The dance was simple at first—no complicated steps, moving slowly, like a sleeping dragon. After the first eight eights, however, the tempo picked up: the dragon was awake. Suddenly the dance floor was an eruption of movement, and Lily and James were having a great time, never missing a step. They didn't talk—they were concentrating on exactly what to do and getting nervous as the music got closer to the end, the section where so many dancers just couldn't handle it any more. Neither of them was willing to give up.

As they whirled around the dance floor, Lily smiled at James. When the dance came to an end, she laid her head on his chest. He placed a gentle kiss on top of her head. "Thank you, Lily."

She looked at him, surprised. "For what?"

He smiled even wider. "The perfect night."

* * *

><p><em>Apparently, it's been five months since I updated this story, and I'm sorry for that. Next chapter will be much faster than that: Sirius promised a Gryffindor party, and Lily has never had firewhisky before...<em>

_Review this chapter, and I'll try to have the next one up before the end of the week :)_


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